Memories
by welcometonerdworld
Summary: A bunch of James/Lily prompts from my tumblr - from canon to AU, all mixed up. Cover art by anxiouspineapples.
1. fix you

Prompt: Lily's parents died after an attack and she thinks it's her fault but James convinces her otherwise and maybe some kissing :))

Rating: K+ (death mention)

* * *

The letter is short. It starts with a "Dear Miss Lily Evans" and ends with a "Yours Sincerely" from some ambiguous Ministry worker, but it still takes a second or so for the two sentences in between to sink in.

_Killed._

Lily reads it again, green eyes widening and heart beginning to pump wildly. There's a sinking feeling in her stomach that she knows has nothing to do with the breakfast that she's eating, and her hands start to shake as she skims over the letter again.

_We regret to inform you that at six o'clock this morning, during a raid in a Muggle town…_

The thin parchment that holds the words in place wobbles, and the letters blur. Lily intakes a gulp of air and exhales shakily, not noticing the way that her friends frown worriedly at her as she stands quickly and drops the letter on the table like it is on fire.

_Mr and Mrs David Evans were killed…_

There is a weight on her heart as she runs. She runs like she's being chased; she runs because she is in disbelief. The words that she left behind at the table are seared into her eyelids, and her vision seems to distort in the liquid welling up in her tear ducts. She's made five paces out of the Great Hall when the first sob tears through her, loud and large and ruining. She sweeps around the corner and turns into an empty classroom, sinking down against the wall and hugging her knees to her chest.

They are dead. Her parents, the two family members that she holds most dear, are gone, murdered in cold blood by pureblood fanatics. Death Eaters. Never again will she kiss their cheeks or hold their hands or smile at them, because they have gone to a place where she will not.

The grief gnaws at her stomach and Lily feels sick, pushing down on her nausea in between sobs that make her whole body vibrate and shake as warm liquid trickles down her cheeks. She digs the sharp edges of her fingernails into her palms and scrunches her fists hard against her shins.

Lily cries for what seems like hours, but she knows that it hasn't been long when there is a soft knock at the ajar door. A tousled head of hair pokes around the doorframe accompanied by an anxious look. James walks into the classroom and sits down tentatively next to Lily, moving close to her so that his left arm wraps around her shoulders and her head drops down into the crook of his neck. She lets her tears fall onto his shirt, little drops of moisture that sink in to the starchy fabric.

"Lily," he says in a low voice, "I'm here for you if you need someone."

She sniffles a little and murmurs a word of gratitude, and he responds in kind by dropping a kiss to her hairline. She shakes against him and he hugs her tighter as her sobs begin to fade into little hiccoughs. Slowly, she removes her head from his shoulder and sits straighter, wiping at her nose and cheeks with the sleeve of her jumper. She leans back against the wall.

"What am I going to do, James?" she asks hopelessly, grief overtaking her. "My parents…"

"I'm sorry, Lily," he says sincerely, and he takes her hand.

"This is all my fault," she says, squeezing her eyes shut as tears threaten to fall again, "If I wasn't a witch this never would have happened, it's because I'm a muggleborn that my parents are –"

She breaks off as the hysteria creeps up on her, a newfound guilt working its way into her head and consuming her with a kind of pain that one would not expect to find in a seventeen year old girl. James swears under his breath and pulls her around to face him, hands lightly gripping her shoulders as he lowers his head and speaks urgently.

"Lily," he says firmly, hazel eyes behind glasses roaming over her flushed face and bloodshot eyes, "It is not your fault."

"But if I hadn't come to Hogwarts, if I hadn't been a witch, then –" She wails and covers her face with her hands, not caring that her boyfriend is seeing her so undone and broken.

James takes her hands gently, pulling them to his lips where he brushes his mouth over her knuckles. Then he drops them and reaches towards her, wiping the moisture on her face away with the pads of his thumbs and resting his forehead against hers, his hands curling into her hair.

"Lily," he says quietly, and the sound is so intimate that Lily is sure that if she hadn't been crying, she would have blushed furiously under his steady gaze.

Unblinkingly, he continues. "It is not your fault that you are a witch. It is not your fault that you are a muggleborn. There is nothing wrong with being a muggleborn, and it is not your fault that prejudiced idiots cannot see that. It is not your fault that there was an attack."

She looks at him closely, finding no wavering in his expression or lies in his words. She shuts her eyes briefly, the words of the letter still imprinted into her mind. Lily moves forward a fraction of an inch and brushes her lips against James'. The kiss is short and lingering, an apology from him and a way to forget for her. When they break apart, James holds her in a tight embrace and she kisses his jaw, curling into his side.

Lily falls asleep first, her hysteria giving way to exhaustion as she rests her head in James' lap. He looks down on her, sweeping a wisp of hair away from her face that holds so much pain and sadness. He can see it everywhere; in the clenched fists against his chest, the frown that lines her mouth, the furrowing of her eyebrows and the dried tears on her cheeks. A kind of determination blossoms in his chest as James also succumbs to sleep: she may be broken, but he will help her to heal.

* * *

**A/N: Hi, hope you enjoyed the drabble! I'll be posting all my tumblr prompts over here (jily ones) from now on, so if you have a prompt for me please send it over to my tumblr - I'm lilypxtter over there. Leave a review if you can please!**


	2. red-headed wonder

Prompt: band camp AU

Rating: K+ (swearing)

* * *

James swore and thumped his head down on the keyboard yet again, causing a horrible clashing sound. He winced, but ignored it. Was he ever going to get this bloody song written? Remus had given him a tune to work with a week ago, and that was all well and good until today – the day before the Marauders' first recording at band camp, also known as James' deadline.

In short, he was screwed. The words weren't coming to him like they normally did, and he was now remorsefully thinking about how he shouldn't have told Remus that he'd already finished this goddamn song. He wished that Peter had some sort of composition skill, that Sirius wasn't all guitar and harmonies only, and that Remus was good with words and not just the piano.

Words had always been James' strong point, but now they were failing him.

For a place that was supposed to improve your musical skills, James sure wasn't benefitting from this godforsaken camp.

"Okay," he muttered to himself, taking in a deep breath, "I'll leave the verse and work on the chorus."

He set to work once again, singing the tune and mulling over words. He needed an idea, a muse.

"La, la-la, la, la," he sang nonsensical lyrics to the melody and shut his eyes to feel the beat. Then he sighed. "I can't fucking do this."

Throwing down his pencil, he got up from his uncomfortable chair and opened the door of the practice room, thinking that if he got some air it might be easier to write.

He was just walking down the corridor to the building's exit when the double doors in front of him opened and smacked him in the face. Immediately, James' eyes began to water and he felt blood stream from his nose as he gasped in pain.

"Bloody hell!" a feminine voice pierced through James' suffering, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hit you! Here," James saw that she was rummaging through her pockets, extracting a packet of tissues, one of which she handed to him.

Slightly embarrassed, James mopped up his nose until the tissue was soaked through, at which point the girl wordlessly handed him another. When James was sure that the flow had stopped, he held his nose in the tissue with one hand and inspected his glasses for cracks with the other.

"I don't think I got your glasses," she said hurriedly, "At least, I hope I didn't. I'm really sorry!"

Shaking his head, James placed his glasses tentatively back onto his face and pushed them up the bridge of his nose. "It's okay," he said in a muffled voice from behind the tissue, "They're fine."

The girl breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm still so sorry," she bit her lip, "Is there anything I can help you out with to apologise?"

James thought about it. On the one hand, she was from a rival band – why would she want to help him? Then again, she was offering. At this point in time, James needed all the help he could get...

"As a matter of fact," he said, wiping his nose one last time and discarding the tissue into the depths of his pocket, "There is."

"I didn't catch your name back there," James said as the pair sat down together back in the practise room, "But I'm James Potter. Marauder," he said, smiling and saluting her.

The girl grinned, "I know who you are; you're the lead singer. I'm Lily Evans, from Godric's Lions."

James nodded, "I know. I've heard you sing in rehearsal, I just never knew your name."

Lily shrugged and said, "We're not as well known as you lot."

"Ah, but your harmonies are easily better." James pointed out, and Lily beamed at him.

Changing the subject, she asked, "So, what do you need help with?"

James groaned and rubbed his eyes. He'd almost forgotten about the song. "It's this piece," he said, "I've got to have it done for tomorrow night – we're recording."

"Ah." said Lily, "So you're lyricist, right?"

"Yeah," James said, and then snorted, "Though right now I'm a pretty shit one."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Everyone always says that. I'm sure you're fantastic normally, and I can't have helped by giving you a nosebleed – I am really sorry about that, by the way."

She bit her lip again and James couldn't help but notice that it was dreadfully attractive. "Lily, if you apologise one more time, I will never forgive you."

"Sorry!" she said, and then laughed, "I mean, sorry for saying sorry. Yeah."

Grinning, James shook his head and tapped his sheet of rough notes. "Let's get to it."

"Sure," Lily said, "You've got a melody?"

James handed Remus' manuscript over to her and she began to play it on the keyboard, humming along and stopping every so often to think.

"Huh. Nice tune," she said when she had finished, "It's quite..."

"Hopeful?"

Lily nodded. "You should make it about a person. Think of someone you know, it's always easiest that way."

James frowned. "I don't know who."

Lily tapped her feet on the piano stool and played with a strand of her hair. "Okay, say hypothetically you did it about me, what would be your first line?"

James gaped at her. Then, "She's so modest, it's crazy."

Lily snorted and blushed slightly, "This is _hypothetical_, James."

"Oh, alright. Something about your hair, I guess. The colour," James shrugged.

"Great." she said, taking his paper and pencil from his hands, she wrote down, 'Red.'

"Red what?" asked James.

"You're going to talk about the colour red. When you see red, what do you think of?"

"I dunno. Love, anger, hate, passion, sex. Liverpool football team, Sirius' motorbike, Remus' favourite colour, Peter's boxers."

She laughed. "Pick an emotion – not sex though. That will not go down well with the camp leaders."

James smirked and said, "Passion, then. Or love. Something in between."

She put the pencil in his hand again and the paper in front of him. "Write a line to do with me, and passion and love. Go."

James ran a hand through his hair. He ruffled it, pushed his glasses up his nose.

The magical epiphany which songwriters all crave came to him out of the blue, metaphorically hitting him in the face like the door had. He had it. He had a line, half a verse, even. Hell, if he sung it long enough, he'd probably have a whole damn song in a few hours.

Breaking out into a wide smile, he said, "Thanks, Lily. I've got it now." He began to scribble rapidly on the paper; words flowing from his pencil just like the blood had been from his nose before.

She beamed. "I knew you were a musical genius."

"I'm not, but okay." he said, and looked up to smirk at her.

"Well, I guess you don't need my help anymore," she said, and she got up from the piano stool. James' heart sank, and he didn't know why.

Quickly, he stopped writing and straightened up, "Want to sing it through with me?"

Lily smiled, slightly shyly, and sat back down again. "I thought you'd never ask."

Together, they title the song and sing it through, Lily harmonising on the spot and James having an air guitar session in the middle. When it's over, James' is glad that she'd whacked him in the nose. Sometimes, he thinks to himself, you find inspiration in the weirdest ways, and his just happened to come in the form of a smack to the face and a red-headed wonder.


	3. far too young to die

Prompt: Far Too Young To Die (Panic! At the Disco)

Rating: K+ (death mention)

* * *

_Well I never really thought that you'd come tonight_

_While the crown hangs heavy on either side_

_Give me one last kiss while we're far too young to die_

Lily knows she's being selfish when she kisses him on the neck another time, but she can't let him do this. She can't let him go, not when she's pregnant and she's scared for him and this is dangerous, too dangerous.

"Lil," he breathes, "I've got to go –"

"Shhh," she whispers against his skin, "Not yet, James. Not yet."

He protests, "You know this is an important mission, and Dumbledore..."

Lily touches a finger to his lips and closes her eyes. Leaning her forehead against his, she speaks, "James, I need you. More than Dumbledore, more than anyone. The baby needs you."

He gulps and there is a lump in his throat as he places a hand on her stomach and sighs. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she kisses him again, "It's not your fault."_ Selfish_, the voice in her head hisses, but she doesn't care.

He stands and smiles at her sadly. There is a look about him that makes him seem much older than twenty.

"I'll come back. You'll see, Lily. I'm far too young to die."

_He is_, she thinks. But that doesn't mean he's invincible.

* * *

There is a bang on the door and Lily runs, or waddles to unbolt it, heart pounding and wand aloft. She looks through the peephole and then wrenches the door open, speaking threatening words to ensure that this is her husband, and not an intruder.

James answers correctly and she has to stop him from falling over. There is a gash on his face and it isn't pretty, it's bleeding red and looks like Dark Magic.

"Lily," he gasps, and there's blood at his mouth too as she practically carries him to the sofa. He collapses and she summons her potions, the ones that she always has ready now. You can never be too sure.

She cleans his wound and kisses his forehead, muttering obscenities about killing these bloody Death Eaters and bloody Voldemort because who has the right to harm her husband like this? And her hands shake as she seals the cut and he has to hold the other one in his semi-consciousness to remind her that he's still alive, that they're still a team.

He sleeps and she worries, about him and her unborn child, the one that will be brought up into a world of madness and prejudice and bloodshed. She shakes her head determinedly. They will win this war. They have to.

Lily exhales, letting out a breath she didn't even know she was holding, and wipes a hand over her forehead before gripping the bridge of her nose. Just as she's letting her eyes close, James comes round, breathing heavily and sweating and looking panicked with his bloodshot and dilated eyes. Lily takes the cool cloth she's been saving and places it on his forehead. He shivers.

"What happened, James?" She speaks softly, dreading his answer.

"I –" His breathing is shaky and she can feel the vibrations spread from his skin to hers as she grasps his hand, "Benjy's gone."

He says it bluntly, like tearing off a plaster. _Gone_. That's the word they always use now. Never dead. Just gone, like a fleeting moment that can't mean forever.

Lily shuts her eyes and grips him tighter. She runs her fingers over his hand and up his arm and looks down, clenching her hand into a tight fist. She feels his pulse and again she is being self-centred, but she can't help but be a little bit glad that it isn't James that's gone; James is still here. He's still with her.

"He was too young." She murmurs. It's all she can say.

"We all are." He kisses the knuckles of her clenched fist and pries open her fingers. Smoothing out the crescent moon shaped lines in her palm, James holds her hand.

She wishes she could say it was going to be okay. She wishes that she still had hope that the war would end soon. But she can't lie to him.


	4. no fear

Prompt: Lily never had a proper chance to say goodbye to all of her boys + Lily hears James hit the floor

Rating: K+ (death)

* * *

Lily thinks of Peter when the door opens. Of little pudgy Peter, with his adoring blue eyes and never-failing loyalty, proud to be friends with all of them. Clever Peter, who was always the most cunning and secretive of them all. She wants to be angry with him, and for a second she is, but then the fury fades into sadness. She wants to hug him and tell him that he should not have been misled, that he was part of the good side and that they loved him. But it's too late. Peter has betrayed them, and the Dark Lord is at the door.

When he comes into the house, Lily thinks of Remus. Kind, caring Remus, who always put everyone before him. Remus, who held more pain than anyone and still managed to stay firm in his beliefs. Remus who had found friends that wouldn't judge him, although a few doubted him later on. The war has changed everyone, but Remus felt the pain long ago. Even if they do succeed, he will not be happy. Werewolves will still be marginalised, looked down upon. She knows that, and she wants to kiss his cheek and tell him that she's proud of him, and that everything will be okay. But she can't. Remus is away for the Order, and she will not get to tell him she loves him. Voldemort is near.

Lily hears him on the stairs, and her thoughts switch to Sirius. Her almost brother, who suffered so much, who was shunned by his family and who still remained faithful. Sirius, witty and gorgeous and intelligent. Sirius who will soon lose his second family. Tears well in her eyes as she remembers him and how close they all were. She wants to kiss his forehead and squeeze his shoulders and tell him that she loves him, and that he shouldn't lose hope. She wants to make sure he doesn't sink into darkness when they are gone, that he remains strong. There's no time. He approaches.

James. He is on the landing, and Lily can see him in her mind's eye: never showing fear, still standing tall, perhaps with his fists raised in defence. James, her best friend and lover and husband. He has lost so much and now, he will lose his life. Hot liquid spills down her cheek; she wants to hold him and kiss him and be there with him, fighting alongside him until the very end. James, who is so brave and so brilliant but who now stands at Death's door. She thinks of him, of them, at school. Bickering and smiling and hugging and kissing. Of their marriage and their home and their child. She wishes she could grow old with him, have more children and watch them grow up. She dreams of a grey-haired, crinkly-eyed James, with creaky limbs but boundless love and energy even in his old age. She cannot run to him, as much as she wants to. Her feet are frozen on the ground as he falls, and a sob chokes her as she hears the soft thump of his body on the carpet. James is gone.

But Harry still lives. One year old innocent, naïve Harry, with his father's looks but her eyes. Harry and his chubby cheeks and waving fists. She barricades the door in vain, piling boxes and toys and books as she thinks of Harry gurgling happily at his parents, and them hugging him together. She wants to see him grow up, going to school and making friends and living his life as he wishes. She wants to grow old and be proud of the man he becomes. She remembers the bump in her belly as she stands in front of his cot, and her child's cries pierce her thoughts. Lily wants to cuddle him and kiss him and comfort him, but she is at wandpoint. She is wandless.

A green light flashes. She must save her child, and so she begs. She pleads helplessly with the man who has just murdered her husband and she asks him for mercy. She knows it is in vain, but she is desperate. She _will_ save Harry. It will be the last thing she ever does.

In her last moments, Lily does not fear Death. She thinks of her boys. The ones she loves, those who she never had the chance to say goodbye to. As the emerald glow spills into her eyes, she has only one comfort: she will see some of them soon. She will get to be with some of them in the Afterlife, wherever that may be. The others she will watch, from far, far away, waiting with hope and sadness until their time comes too.


	5. just in case

Prompt: James is the hot drummer for Petunia's band.

Rating: K

* * *

"Lily, come in here for a sec!"

Lily groaned, pushing herself upright on her elbows and surveying the mess that was her room from her comfortable bed. She really should have been cleaning it, but it was freezing cold and every time she took off her duvet, she could feel her toes turning to ice.

Heaving a sigh, she gathered the covers around her and did a sort of sideways roll, off the bed and onto the wooden floor.

"Ow," she muttered, rubbing the part of her head that had hit the ground. She sat up and wrapped herself tighter in the blankets, shuffling from her room and down the corridor to Petunia's.

"Tuney," she muttered, opening the door, "What is it...?"

She trailed off. An interesting sight stood before her - Petunia, blonde haired and high necked, was inspecting two rather attractive boys who faced her. One of them was almost offensively good-looking, with long, dark hair that was swept over his forehead to reveal stormy grey eyes. The other, slightly taller one, was less conventionally so - all long limbs and strong jaw, with the messiest hair Lily had ever seen, and a pair of black glasses perched on his nose.

Frozen, Lily watched as the three people turned to her. Petunia let out a sigh, "Finally! Lily, this is James and Sirius -"

"No, I'm serious," said the glasses-wearer, "Seriously James."

Petunia groaned, while the other boy snickered and high-fived his partner. "Potentially my guitarist," she pointed to Sirius, "and drummer," she nodded at James.

"Okay..." said Lily, recovering from her trance. Immediately, she felt her face redden. Here she was, in her knotty hair, pyjama and blanket wearing glory, standing in front of two hot boys and her perpetually tidy sister.

"I need you to listen to us play," continued Petunia, oblivious to Lily's internal panic, "And give me your honest opinion on how good they are."

Lily nodded and waddled over to a chair, dragging it forwards and flopping down into it, bedding and all. "Alright," she said, ignoring the eyes of the boys.

"Great," said Petunia, with a rare smile to her sister.

They got into place and started. Lily recognised the song as a famous pop one, and thought that Sirius looked a little uncomfortable playing it – judging by his clothes, Lily would have guessed him to be more into rock music than the kind of soppy songs Petunia preferred.

James, on the other hand, appeared to be very much in his element, bopping his head to the rhythm of the song, drumming along to the beat. Lily was just admiring the way that the muscles in his arms moved as he played when she noticed that he was looking straight at her, a smirk on his face.

Lily raised an eyebrow somewhat competitively. James' lips curled into a smile as they continued to stare at each other, before the song came to an end. James looked away to play the final beats, finishing with a dramatic flourish on the cymbals. She wrenched her gaze away, and looked at Petunia.

"So, what did you think?" Petunia asked, slightly out of breath.

Truthfully, Lily thought they were amazing, no matter how stereotypically lovey-dovey the song was. She grinned, "Pretty good, Tuney. I like them."

James winked at her, and Lily turned purple.

Petunia smiled, "Thanks, Lily. Anything else?"

Lily glanced at Sirius, "Uh, maybe try something a little more alternative? I think it would sound really good."

Her sister bit her lip nervously, "I dunno, Lily, seems like a risk…"

Sirius shot Lily a grateful look, and then turned to Petunia, a charming smile on his face. "Lily's right, Petunia, I'm sure your voice would sound great with something more punk-rock!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw James stifle a snort. She looked at him inquisitively, and he caught her gaze, laughing silently.

"Hmmm…" Petunia considered, "Alright. We'll go downstairs and search some stuff." She led Sirius from the room, and it took Lily a full five seconds to realise she was alone with James.

"Hi," he said, coming towards her, "Lily, right? I'm James."

"Seriously James," Lily said, grinning, "You're pretty good at the whole drumming thing."

"I like to think so, yeah," he replied, not quite in a cocky way, but in an I-know-my-confidence-is-hot way. Even now, as Lily watched him, she could see his nervous energy – he was constantly tapping a rhythm on his thighs with his fingertips, and running a hand through his hair.

"I think Petunia likes you," said Lily, just about realising that he was coming ever closer. She stood, leaving her blanket on the chair, "But I'm pretty sure I should do a security check. Just in case."

"Security check, eh?" James raised an eyebrow, "Is that mandatory in the Evans household?"

"Oh, yeah," said Lily, "Wouldn't want to face the wrath of my dad." James paled, and Lily giggled. "Only joking, James. But I still think it's important to get to know the members of my sister's band…"

James smirked. "I'll bring Sirius along too, yeah?"

Lily made a face, "He's a tad too..."

"Punk-rock?"

They broke out into laughter, with shaking shoulders and sparkling eyes. Lily bumped into James and muttered an apology.

"S'alright," he said easily, supporting her. Lily could feel his warm hands practically burning her waist through her pyjama top.

They locked eyes again. Up close, Lily could tell that James had really, really nice eyes. They were hazel in colour, but more on the brown side, with flecks of green and gold spattered about and reflected by his glasses.

"So," he said quietly, his breath wafting over her face. "About that date…"

Lily felt a swooping sensation in her stomach. "Date?"

James flushed pink. "Well, I…"

"Yeah, I think it's necessary," Lily said, and with a teasing smile, she stood on her tiptoes so that their eyes were almost level. "For security reasons, of course."

"Mmmm. Just in case." James murmured, hands moving to hold hers.

"Just in case," Lily repeated, eyes flickering shut. A second later, their lips met. He was warm, and his lips were soft, smooth, gliding effortlessly with hers.

They broke apart. "Did I ever tell you I have a thing for drummer boys?"

James smirked, pecking her cheek. "I gathered as much."

She grinned. "What are you doing Friday?"

"Not sure yet. A very pretty redhead mentioned something about a security check, though…" He ran a hand through his hair.

"You should probably get in touch with her."

"Probably." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a shiny black phone. "Pretty sure I don't have her number yet."

Lily took it, touching the screen several times before handing it back, beaming. "Pretty sure you do."

They stood together for a moment, still grinning at each other. Lily could have sworn that her lips were buzzing.

He sighed, "I should probably go check on Sirius. Make sure he's not brainwashing your sister with his punk-rock knowledge."

"Wouldn't want to make Petunia suspicious, either."

He nodded, and led the way from the room. In the corridor, Lily kissed him on the cheek. "Just in case."

"See you on Friday, Evans," he said, saluting her. He turned on his heel and walked down the stairs, looking back just once at the redhead on the landing.

Lily went back into her room, falling onto her bed with a soft thump. She grinned into her pillow, thinking of the messy haired drummer boy who had just made her day.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you liked this one! (It's a lot happier than the last one, that's for sure.) Please leave a review if you can :)**


	6. lean on me

Prompt: consider the "i work at a movie theatre and i'm cleaning up after the movie is over and you're the only person left because you're ugly crying with popcorn over your lap" AU but also Sirius is with James and really exasperated and when poor unsuspecting Lily walks up he just says can you deal with this and leaves

Rating: K+ (swearing, sex mention)

* * *

"I - what?"

It seemed that Lily was in a bit of a predicament. She'd been going about her usual job, squinting for bits of tissue and popcorn in the nearly black cinema, when she'd stumbled across two boys.

The one on the left would have been extremely handsome, if it hadn't been for the fact that his eyes were red and puffy and his nose was quite obviously running. There was popcorn all over his lap, and Lily groaned internally as she thought of the amount of mess she was going to have to pick up.

The other boy was cute, if you liked that tall, dorky and messy haired type, which Lily did. A lot. He had an exasperated look on his face as he patted his companion's shoulder half-heartedly, and Lily had to wonder if this was a date gone terribly wrong.

Then, she'd made the mistake of asking them to move, which caused the following statement from the non-crier: "Sorry, would you mind dealing with this?"

Before she could say a word, he'd stood in one elegant move, and jogged down the stairs, out of sight. Lily, now left with one tearful boy, stuttered and asked, "Uh. Are you alright?"

The boy sniffled. "No. That film was _awful_. They were so perfect together and then -" He broke out into a fresh round of tears.

Lily bit her lip and perched on the seat next to him which was still warm from the other boy having sat on it. "I'm Lily," she said by way of introduction, "Do you want to talk about it?"

* * *

A slightly painful ten minutes later, Lily had heard Sirius' entire life story - including but not withstanding to his fucked up family history, his best friend James (when Lily had asked about the attractive boy, Sirius had actually _laughed_), and his recent breakup.

"She looks like that," Sirius said, tears finally drying, "All blonde hair and long legs."

"Sounds like a looker," said Lily, "And she won't take you back?"

"It's not her fault...we're always arguing," Sirius muttered.

"A lot of people say arguing is a form of sexual tension," Lily said, pretending that she was the all-knowing Goddess of Relationships, when in fact she'd never really been in one herself. "Maybe you two just need to -"

"Shag?"

A new voice. "Well, I don't want to interrupt, but -"

"James!" Sirius yelled, delighted at the reappearance of his friend. Lily swore under her breath as the popcorn that had, a second before, been on his lap scattered in all directions onto the floor.

"Hi, Padfoot," James said, a laugh in his throat as Sirius hugged him, "Feeling better?"

"Loads," he grinned, "Lily here says that I need to have amazing make up sex with Marlene."

"I didn't exactly say that," Lily replied, straightening up from her attempt to sweep all of Sirius' leftover popcorn into one pile.

James was studying her intensely, and Lily was grateful for the darkened room that hid her blush so well. "Sirius," he said, still looking at Lily as he spoke, "Can you wait outside? Someone wants to talk to you."

"Sure." He said, and with what Lily could have sworn was a wink in her direction, Sirius bounded out of the cinema.

Lily turned to James, wearing her best I'm-not-impressed look. He had the courtesy to look sheepish.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled, "But I thought the only way to get him back to normal was to call Marlene and get her over here. She's outside now, with him."

Lily raised an eyebrow. At least his excuse was good. "You really shouldn't have ditched him with me."

"I didn't know how else to call Marlene! Like you said, they quite obviously need some make up sex -" Lily blushed again, "- so I had to get her over here. He's driving me mad with all this moping."

"Still. Leaving him with a total stranger?"

"You seemed to handle it well. I've never seen him cheer up so quickly, it normally takes at least five beers and a round on his motorbike."

Lily laughed, "Well, if you ever need someone to help with him again, you know where to look."

"Where's that, then?"

"I work shifts here from eight in the evening to twelve every weekday, and eleven in the morning to one on the weekends. Until I go back to school, at least."

"Wow," he sounded surprised, "That's a lot. Tell you what, I'll come round and help you out as a thank you."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," said Lily, feeling bad against her own will, "Honestly, Sirius wasn't that much work -"

"Nonsense," he waved a hand airily, and Lily's lips twitched at the word. "I live nearby, so it won't be any trouble." He smiled, and began to walk down the stairs, pausing once to ask if she was coming.

She followed, ignoring the inevitable clean up that she'd have to face afterwards. The pair of them left the room, squinting at the bright light in the corridors and walking towards the exit. They'd only taken ten steps when they saw a much happier looking Sirius, snogging a tall blonde girl like his life depended on it.

James snorted at the sight, and Lily grinned. "See you tomorrow?" she asked.

He returned her smile, "'Course. I'll be bugging you for the rest of the holiday."

This hardly seemed like a bad thing to Lily - in fact, this was just about the best thing that could have happened to her holidays. It seemed that all she really needed to get out of her summer boredom was a mopey, heartbroken guy and his slightly (very) attractive best mate.

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**A/N: hope you liked it! please leave a review if you can :)**


	7. distraction

Prompt: Lily trying to seduce James when he has a test to revise for/essay to finish

Rating: T (sexual-ish scenes)

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The thing about NEWT level Arithmancy was that it was hard. Really, really hard. James had been regretting his decision to carry on with the godforsaken subject ever since the beginning of the year, and with the additional pressure of being Head Boy, the fact that this was his last year to get the Quidditch Cup _and_ the war brewing just outside Hogwarts' doors, James really couldn't be bothered with his homework.

And yet. His father – upon his deathbed, mind you – had made him promise to continue to work hard, not to lose hope just because one of two of his parents were gone. He has to set an example, doesn't he? James needs these grades for a job.

So he struggles on, hoping against hope that the seemingly ever-growing pile of questions in front of him will diminish. It doesn't, of course. Although a Vanishing Charm may be one flick of his wand away, he doesn't reckon that would go over very well with his professor.

He's been working through it methodically for a brief twenty minutes or so when Lily appears in the doorway.

The Heads' office is a sort of safe haven for the two of them, away from the perpetual racket in the rest of the school. It's a place for work, but also for the two of them to just _be_.

It's supposed to be peaceful, anyway. Which is exactly why James is so surprised when Lily enters with the top two buttons of her white shirt undone, robes and jumper nowhere to be seen and skirt considerably shorter than usual. His eyes glance over the line that her thigh-high socks draw on her knees, skims up to the exposed skin at her neck and chest, and he wonders what exactly she's up to.

"Who've you been snogging?" he teases, hand flying into his hair as it always does when he's flirting with her, or trying to. Hers is wavier than usual, almost deliberately dishevelled, as if she knows exactly where the princess curls that rest on the tops of her breasts are sending his mind. (Straight down the gutter, if that wasn't clear enough.)

She grins toothily; walks towards his place on the sofa. James swears that her hips are swaying more than usual. "No one but you, of course."

"Good answer, Evans," he says, staring at the way the dark eyeliner that rims her eyes makes them smoulder, before he catches sight of his quill. James groans.

"What?" she asks, perching beside him. He speculates idly over whether or not she's deliberately brushing her leg against his.

"I've got a fucking mountain of –"

"Let me guess, Arithmancy?"

As James' close friend of at least a year and girlfriend of five months, Lily is well aware of his unfortunate situation when it comes to the dreaded subject.

"How in Merlin's name did you guess?" he deadpans, pulling slightly on his hair as if it will make him concentrate.

"Can I help?"

He shows her the question he's stuck on, to which she winces. Having had the foresight not to take Arithmancy (it was apparently too similar to her least favourite subject at Muggle primary school, Maths), Lily can't really offer any advice to him. "Sorry, James," she says instead, tone sympathetic. He watches her fingers curl softly around his hand, and her thumb begins to knead circles into his palm.

Before he can say a word, she leans in, going straight for his lips and pecking them softly once before peppering a string of kisses down his jaw. He holds back a groan and protests weakly, "Lily, this is due in half an hour."

"Half an hour? When did you get it?" she murmurs the question whilst kissing the shell of his ear, a move that renders James almost speechless.

He mumbles back a sheepish, "Last Friday," before his lips are caught between hers once more. Against his better judgement, James' hands move to her waist, fingers bending into the dip below her ribs. He feels her hands twist around his neck and slip down to his shoulders, and he lets out a little hum as she massages the knots there.

"Has anyone," he mutters between kisses, "Ever told you that your hands are magical?"

She smirks against his mouth and pulls away for a second to smile at him and say, "Well, I have this boyfriend who says that a lot, actually. The thing is, he's always busy because he's very smart and popular – not that his ego needs anymore boosting –" James kisses the sarcastic remark off her lips, "And he works. Too. Damn. Hard." She punctuates each word with a kiss (on his cheek, his nose, his lips) and a dig of her index fingers into his stiff back.

"I don't think I work hard enough, really," he considers, revelling in the way his muscles seem to relax instantly at her touch, "I should have done this ages ago, but –"

"But it was the full moon and you are a better friend than student, I know," she rolls her eyes, "James, your teacher isn't going to murder you if you don't do half of your homework for one week."

"But –"

She bites down softly on his lower lip, transforming his objection into a sigh. His eyes flicker shut of their own accord, and he takes a deep breath before kissing her, hard. His tongue curls around hers and his hands are sliding up, away from her waist to undo her third button, and maybe their teeth bump once or twice, but James could not care less.

He has a beautiful girlfriend practically sitting in his lap; she is one of his favourite people in the world. And from the way her skirt is slowly slipping further up her thighs and his breathing is already increasing in pace, it doesn't look like they're stopping anytime soon.

And so they don't. James waltzes into Arithmancy exactly thirty five minutes after (he's vaguely aware of his lateness, but the amount of effort it takes to leave Lily is far too much), with a new spring in his step and his half-finished homework stuffed messily into his open bag. The teacher barely bats an eye. Instead, she tells him to sit down, do up his tie – he hadn't even realised that it was draped around his shoulders – and get his books out.

The professor doesn't even ask for his homework after all that, and as James collapses into the seat next to a smirking Sirius who passes him a note, – "I assume this is Evans' doing?" – he cannot think of a half an hour he's spent better in his entire life.

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A/N: Hope you liked this one! Please review :)


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